Is this a common exploit?

[harpwn]

Was playing a game of Real-Time Ark Nova, very obvious present and playing. Last turn, endgame triggered.
I was low on time as I had multiple rounds of long turns. The second I ran out of time, another player hit the "skip player out of time" button, the literal second like they were hovering it beforehand. I scrambled to finish quicker and eventually just pressed passed, it didn't matter. Game ended in last round, final scoring skipped, everyone won except me with 1 point. I can see who it was and I can see they were in a distant 3rd place, so I have to assume this action was for them to avoid losing elo. The game literally would have ended seconds later without the skip.

Is this a common thing people do?

[Meeplelowda]

Was playing a game of Real-Time Ark Nova, very obvious present and playing. Last turn, endgame triggered.
I was low on time as I had multiple rounds of long turns. The second I ran out of time, another player hit the "skip player out of time" button, the literal second like they were hovering it beforehand. I scrambled to finish quicker and eventually just pressed passed, it didn't matter. Game ended in last round, final scoring skipped, everyone won except me with 1 point. I can see who it was and I can see they were in a distant 3rd place, so I have to assume this action was for them to avoid losing elo. The game literally would have ended seconds later without the skip.

Is this a common thing people do?

Yes, it's common, and there have been dozens of threads about it across many different games.

[mikkashar]

It is a thing some people do. BGA considers the game clock time limit to be part of the agreement to play, so it's legal to skip immediately but BGA encourages some grace: see https://boardgamearena.com/faq?anchor=f ... notplaying. A few people game the clock, while most (IME) are willing to be at least a little patient, especially if it's clear that the player running out of time is making their move.

The simplest thing to do is to red-thumb the player who leapt on the "skip" button, so that you're not matched against them again (unless you're both in the same tournament), and move on. If this is happening often, you may want to look at slower game speeds.

IIRC there have been some threads on Ark Nova turns getting long&complicated in the end game. It may be worth looking at those and seeing if there's an open suggestion on adjusting the turn timing to add your voice/vote to, or creating one.

[Meeplelowda]

It is a thing some people do. BGA considers the game clock time limit to be part of the agreement to play, so it's legal to skip immediately but BGA encourages some grace: see https://boardgamearena.com/faq?anchor=f ... notplaying. A few people game the clock, while most (IME) are willing to be at least a little patient, especially if it's clear that the player running out of time is making their move.

The simplest thing to do is to red-thumb the player who leapt on the "skip" button, so that you're not matched against them again (unless you're both in the same tournament), and move on. If this is happening often, you may want to look at slower game speeds.

IIRC there have been some threads on Ark Nova turns getting long&complicated in the end game. It may be worth looking at those and seeing if there's an open suggestion on adjusting the turn timing to add your voice/vote to, or creating one.

Here are some Ark Nova threads I was already gathering when you posted this:
https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42394

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40258

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40683

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39484

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39503

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38903

[harpwn]

Thanks for that. Yeah I had a a strong turn with 2 extra turns somehow, and that took my timer close to 0, then the last turn shortly after I just didn't have time to finish up. Im surprised the game doesnt give you bonus time when extra turn conditions happen. I did red thumb the guy and I had no elo to lose so Im more just annoyed the game didn't have a satisfying conclusion after spending an hour playing.